Movement Demo – Front Raises

Rogue athlete Arielle Loewen demonstrates proper form for single front raises and double front raises in these quick and simple movement demos from Rogue HQ.

The front raise is a shoulder strengthening exercise that focuses on the anterior deltoid (front of the shoulder), where you lift dumbbells (or other weights) out to the front until arms are roughly parallel to the floor. This exercise will help target shoulder strength and the stabilizers that support pressing, pulling, and overhead work.

Benefits

• This movement will help build the anterior deltoid, which assists with pressing strength. This accessory movement transfers to gymnastics and olympic lifting pressing movements.
• Helps improve the ability to stabilize loads in front of the body (important for front rack).
• Strengthens the muscles around the shoulder, reducing imbalance and injury risk.
• Requires minimal equipment, easy to scale up or down.

Setup

• Hold a dumbbell in each hand in front of your sides, palms facing down (overhand grip) or facing each other (neutral grip).
• Stand tall, feet hip-width apart, core braced.

Execution

• With straight (but not locked) elbows, raise the dumbbells forward until arms are parallel to the floor or just above.
• Keep torso still, try not to lean to swing or gain momentum.
• Pause briefly at the top.
• Lower the dumbbells slowly and under control to the starting position.

Regressions

• Decrease the load, use light dumbbells or fractional plates.
• Single-Arm Front Raise, this will reduce load demand.
• Reduce the range of motion by lifting the dumbbells half way .

Progressions

• Increase the load
• Add a tempo to the raising and lowering of the weights to increase time under tension and control.
• Example; 3–4s up/down for time under tension.
• Use plate or band front raise, adds a different stimulus through the range lifted
• Cable Front Raise will provide a constant tension through full ROM.
• Incline Front Raise (lying face down on bench), this movement reduces the ability to swing or create momentum, isolating the shoulders further.